BiharScoop - Where The Best Minds Meet || Bihar Community Portal For News, Reviews, Discussions & Comments

Lalu's tea for workers

Statesman News Service
PATNA, Aug. 30. -- Unable to get "favours" from Mr Ram Vilas Paswan despite persistent efforts and pressure from the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Mr Lalu Prasad has turned to his own party workers to capture the "hot seat".
As part of this plan, Mr Prasad will host a "tea party", and not the all-too-familiar dinner diplomacy, for his party workers at 1, Anne Marg, the address of his wife and former Bihar CM, Mrs Rabri Devi, from 2 September to 13 September. During the 12-day long "tea party", meant to facilitate interaction with dejected party workers, the party chief, a RJD source informed, will provide them with certain "tips" about how to tackle voters while campaigning and manning booths. Each day's meeting has been divided into two shifts and in each shift, the party supremo will hold discussions with party workers of one district, numbering around 1,000.

By Rajesh Kumar, Section News
Posted on Tue Aug 30, 2005 at 07:46:38 PM EST

The workers, hailing from the east and west Champaran, a source said, will be the first to sit to tea with Mr Prasad who, until recently, had been treating them rather shabbily. Mr Prasad's unexpected move has taken by surprise both his supporters and poll observers who read much into this "tactic" coming on the eve of elections in the state. This is the first time in the history of the RJD that workers will be receiving such favours from their boss who is not known for being respectful towards them while in power.
Those familiar with the antics of Mr Prasad will recall that during the last 15 years of the RJD's being in power, the RJD chief had virtually identified himself with Ms J Jayalalithaa, better known as Amma among her workers, by encouraging the feet-touching culture within the party. Whether it was public or private functions, his supporters would prostrate before him much to the amusement of on-lookers even as Mr Prasad looked unmoved by their gesture. At no point of time did his workers muster enough courage to go against the wishes of their "master" or speak against him even as rebellion reigned supreme in opposition parties.
What apparently prompted the RJD chief to host this tea party, sources said, was the party's dismal performance in the last Assembly poll during which it somehow managed to near the 75 mark. One of the main causes of the poor show, it was learnt, was bitter infighting among party workers reportedly due to unfair distribution of party tickets.

Paswan slams RJD
Patna, Aug. 30. -- Sharpening its attack on RJD leader Mr Lalu Prasad, the LJP today charged him with weakening the UPA and ruled out any truck with the party in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections." The UPA has been weakened by Lalu's actions. The RJD president fielded his candidate against the official nominee of the JMM(S), a UPA constituent, in the recent Rajya Sabha election in Jharkhand facilitating the victory of NDA's Digvijay Singh", LJP principal GS Mr Pashupati K Paras and spokesman Mr Sanjay Singh said. -- PTI

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=88207

Menu

Login

Who's Online? (3)

Recent Comments

Recent Member Diaries

Front Page

Random Stories